Last update - 00:00 04/10/2007
Burma sources: Between 200-300 monks killed in crackdown
By Haaretz Staff and News Agencies
Sources in Burma's opposition party NDL said Wednesday that, to date, between 200 and 300 monks have been killed in protests in a deadly crackdown on monks and civilians protesting steep price hikes and 45 years of brutal military rule.
The sources said some of the monks were buried alive, while the bodies of others were burned in an open area some 25 kilometers from the capital Rangun.
According to the party sources, over 160 of its senior leaders have been arrested throughout the country.
The party sources added that NDL intends to continue the protests in 10-15 days.
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari spent four days in Burma this week in an attempt to restore calm to the troubled region.
Gambari and the military junta's reclusive leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe sat in the same room together Tuesday for more than an hour in the remote capital of Naypyitaw.
Neither side has released details of the meeting, although Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao issues a statement welcoming the meeting and calling it a "beneficial step."
Gambari is expected to brief UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council on Friday on the outcome of his trip.